Grass! Water heaters! Let the learning (and obsessing) begin.

In late spring of 2011, I announced my arrival to the Capital Region via this blog. Nearly two years later, I can proudly say that I’m officially “settled” (so to the select few readers who warned me of how horrible this place is, to get out before it’s too late, and all of that other negative garbage, CHEERS! I’m staying.) We closed on our home this past Friday, and though the home buying process was a huge learning experience in and of itself, I find myself learning even more – with each additional passing day – and becoming enthralled with things I never thought I would ever obsess about:

Saving energy. I would never consider myself green, because to me, there’s a serious dedication and talent to truly going green and for someone who spends 15 minutes blow drying my hair each morning, I can hardly claim it. I’m not green, though I wish I could be better. Apparently, it starts now; when I dropped some things off at the new casa this past weekend, I discovered that the water heater was off after washing my hands in ice cold water. The builder had left it off to conserve energy while we were not living there (one month passed from the first offer to closing), and that got me to thinking… I just might be more conscious of the energy I waste when leaving lights and other things on in unoccupied rooms. I wondered around the empty house and started thinking baby… and eco-friendly cleaners that are safe for baby… upgrading to LED lightbulbs… and then…

I peeked outside at the grass (or lack thereof) in my back yard. It’s growing, slowly – peaking out of the sandy, muddy ground left mushy by the late winter snow. The builders scattered hay at least twenty times, only to watch it blow away in the wind. The seed is still heartily scattered about, though, and this past week, I’ve seen some progress. No, I don’t stop to check on it every day (yes, I do.) I’ve become absolutely obsessed with this grass, and I now dream of a lush, green yard of my own. It will happen, and when it does, I’ll be out there, trimming it with little scissors like a psychopath. And I will Instagram the $&*! out of that yard. And my followers will like it.

I’m looking for the cleaner (at the best value) for the hardwood floor. I haven’t scoped out natural cleaning methods yet, but I spend stupid amounts of time reading the backs of cleaning products. What have I become (besides a time waster?) I want shiny floors that aren’t arse-busting slick. Help a girl out, hard wood floor-ers!

Watching for checks to clear has become my favorite past time. No, not really. We typically write one check per month, for our rent – and that could even be paid online – but out of habit, and old-schoolness / stubbornness, we believe we should pay rent with a check for whatever reason. That’ll soon change as I plan to pay the mortgage electronically, but for now, a lesson: you write checks during the home buying process, whether it be for fees or big purchases (because debit cards typically have a spending limit and can lock up if it’s exceeded.) And then, you check your online bank account obsessively, watching for those checks to clear because you’re just not used to them floating around “out there”. I hate checks and I hate checkbooks. To me, they’re kind of like movies on VHS – you desperately want to completely rid of them, but what if you need them?

Besides watching the grass grow, turning my lights out, staring at the hardwood floor and over-analyzing the whereabouts of that check I wrote this past weekend, I’m having a lot of fun shopping for rugs and window treatments. So far, being a homeowner has not been disappointing!

Stephanie Snyder

26 Responses

Make sure that when you get your new water heater, some parts of the Capital District actually charge a $70 permit fee for installing a new tank. Chuck speaks from experience. And if you buy the water heater from a home-improvement store, they will come out and install it for you. No need for you to break out the wrenches and duct tape.

Lawn….if you don’t water (especially on sand) it will not grow. And I don’t mean 15 minutes a week with a dollar store sprinkler. You paid a LOT of money for that grass seed, and they don’t make return trips for free.

Floors….yours are new, so a dry Swiffer will do just fine. Beyond that, I use a product named “Poly Care” for the polyurethane finish. Just follow directions, don’t overdo it, and don’t obsess.

Not sure if you’ve got a 2-car wide driveway or not, but don’t forget to buy a snowblower – trust me, you’ll thank me later. I’ll never forget the first winter after I moved into my house. It snowed every 2-3 days and it felt like I was *always* shoveling. The snowblower that I purchased before the following winter has undoubtedly been a lifesaver!

If you tend to leave lights on you can always get timers for them so if you aren’t in a room it’ll automatically turn off after 5 minutes. We have one in our bathroom and it works great if the cat doesn’t go in there.

I saw water heater in the title because I am staring at the quote for our new water heater as I am writing this, and thought maybe someone else can relate, then realized I was totally misled because it sounds like not only is this a new house to you, it is new as in just built. Our water heater is 13 or 14 years old so I fear we are living on borrowed time. Our house is 70+ years old and while we maintain it very well, we have had to learn about things you will not need to know for quite some time. As a result, I do not have time to obsess about new window treatments and rugs as much as I would love to. In fact, we have been here 8 years and we still do not have treatments on the living room windows. We did replace some carpet 2 years ago but it had to be done quickly as my then 2-year old son was diagnosed with a dust mite allergy. Also, sad to say, I have a new baby and a 4-year old so eco-friendliness tends to take a back seat. Between diapers, endless laundry, keeping the house warmer in winter and cooler in summer, etc. we are far from green. Someday again hopefully soon we will care. As for baby safe cleaners, they are not going to be licking the floors or counters so most are fine; just don’t use aerosols around the baby (your pedi will tell you this).

I just bought a Hoover floormate for my hardwoods and tile. It is a vacuum and scrubber and it sucks up all the dirty water. There is cleaner made for it but I find that water works just fine. I always wanted a beautiful, plushy lawn but since we have four acres of land it is impossible.

Steph, if I were you, I’d start a “:house journal” problems, repairs, cost etc. Also, I wish I had kept a list of visitors(especially) and the occasion they came to visit. There is so much too remember that a journal is quite handy, but I guess you know that. Best of luck with all.

I second the lawn watering. The old saying I learned was “if they dry, they die”. And I DEFINITELY second the snow blower! In fact, you may be able to get a bargain on one this time of year. They will be in great demand in November. You should be able to get an early birthday present.

Leslie, I work in the building industry and I will tell you that the #1 thing homebuilders skimp on is the lawn. And if you are moving in the spring, I will bet a good sum of money that they just threw some junky grass seed down without any topsoil and pray you don’t complain. Check your contract and makes sure they put topsoil down and till the soil since it is well compacted after home construction. Otherwise, you will be like lots of new developments with horrible lawns.

After years of battling with my grass to be greener, I broke down and hired a lawn service a few years ago. Best idea ever. They can drop just the right amount of fertilizer at the optimum time (which always seems to happen when I’m not home). As long as you keep up with watering, it’s a beautiful thing.

Also, keep in mind, weeds travel. If your neighbor on either side has weeds, they’ll try to creep over. A good weed treatment is worth the time and/or money.

First thing, you’re probably going to need to overseed. The seed your builder used was likely put on light and was probably bottom-of-the-line stuff with poor germination rates. Plus, depending on how long it’s been on, with the recent cold wet weather, a lot of it will have rotted (which equals poor germination rates). Forget about getting your builder to come back (unless you like hassles) – you can do this yourself. Get a rotary (not drop) spreader – relatively inexpensive perennial ryegrass is a good option.

Sue’s idea of a lawn service (treatment, not mowing) is a great idea if you are willing to pay for it. If not, get a fertilizer with crab grass preventer and put it on soon (typically around May 1). Fertilize a second time in mid to late July (plain fertlizer). Other than that, if you are in sand, you’ll probably need grub killer annually.

And water (it goes right through sand). Get used to “chasing sprinklers” as my wife and I call it – or get an underground watering system put in (again, $$$ if you decide to go that route).

My stepmother hooked me on a great hardwood floor cleaner – Bona (yes funny name, I laugh EVERY time I use it)I believe its pet friendly, and I’m guessing baby as well – the kit comes with a bottle of the Bona spray and a handy dandy mop duster thing that you can throw in the wash when it gets super dirty. The kit was fairly inexpensive compared to others I looked at which is a plus!

The seed used by most contractors is designed to grow quickly. The fastest growing grass seed is also annual – which means it dies after the season ends. Contractors usually drop a combination of perennial and annual, to achieve the quick results.

Anyone who has ever relied on seed dropped by a contractor would be disappointed the following year. If that’s a concern, over-seeding is the answer. But just watering will work too, since the perennial grass will spread.

Also, last year I started using a service to mow my lawn, too. I like the extra time to myself. But – new homeowners should try it on their own. It’s a pretty cool feeling looking at your lawn thinking, “I did that!”

MBAMom took the words out of my mouth re: baby-safe cleaning products (I was even going to mention the thing about licking!). Don’t go crazy in this department. Your normal products + common sense will do you just fine. Just remember to lock your products safely away, no matter which ones you use.

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